Minimum wage going up in 21 states, 22 cities

Come the new year, millions of the lowest-wage workers across the country will get a raise.

Some of those raises will be very minor -- a cost of living adjustment amounting to an extra nickel or dime an hour. But in several places the jump will be between $1 and $2 an hour.

Even that may not sound like a lot, but it can provide a full-time worker with another $40 to $80 a week. That money, in turn, can make it easier to pay for essential expenses, such as groceries, commuting and keeping the lights on.

All told, the minimum wage is set to rise in 21 states, at least 22 cities, four counties and one region. The majority of those increases will take place on Jan. 1, but in Maryland, Oregon and Washington, D.C., they go into effect in July. Meanwhile, the state of New York will be bumping up minimum pay on New Year's Eve of this year.

The biggest minimum wage raises, percentage wise, will be in Arizona (up 24% to $10), Maine (up 20% to $9) and three Silicon Valley cities (up 20% to $12).

In the absence of action from Congress in terms of raising the federal minimum wage, which has remained at $7.25 since 2009, states and localities have taken matters into their own hands.

The increases were proposed by progressive politicians in state legislatures and on city councils. In instances where those measures failed, worker advocates would then petition to let voters decide directly. Such ballot measures have done remarkably well overall, accounting for the majority of increases taking place in 2017, according to The Fairness Project.

Those same worker advocates are up in arms about President-elect Trump's nominee for Labor Secretary, fast food CEO Andrew Puzder, who is a critic of the movement to raise minimum wages to $15 or, at the federal level, to raise it to $10.10.

The Employment Policies Institute, a research group backed by the restaurant industry, has also been a critic of the Fight for $15 and the varied push for higher wages within states. The group often highlights when a small business closes or cuts staff as a result of a higher state or local minimum wage. And with the 2017 increases on tap, there will be a "mind-boggling patchwork" of minimum wages in New York (14) and California (13), the Institute noted.

But not all employer groups oppose higher wages for the lowest paid. Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, which is funded primarily by foundations and individual businesses, often notes the potential advantages of a higher minimum, including lower employee turnover and increased productivity.

Here's where minimum wages will be in 2017 in the places where they're set to rise: